There are many reasons to have school uniforms. Growing up in a school system that does this for elementary and middle school:
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it allows the wardrobe to be much more simplified so students don’t have to figure out what to wear that day.
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Kids don’t have to get jealous of others for wearing fancy brand names or maybe in some bad areas they’ll do gang colors or something.
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The prices are generally ok, I was never complaining at the prices.
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It might reinforce dressing up professionally even if the clothes aren’t the most comfortable.
The way my school district worked it never looked for the brand names or anything, just so long as it fit the guidelines.
There are also a lot of good reasons uniforms are unnecessary or even detrimental to students and families.
- Creates additional stress in having to have a narrow range of clothing always clean and wearable each day
- Uniforms do little to nothing to mitigate inequality, as children will always have other items to compare each other with - pencil cases, sports trainers/boots, lunchboxes, mobile phones etc.
- Prices of uniforms will likely always be higher than regular clothing due to limited choice and supply, and limited utility outside of school
- Workplace dress codes have become increasingly casual in recent decades, and continue to do so, making reinforcing the use of a highly restrictive uniform seem anachronistic
School uniforms create more problems than they solve.
On the other hand, an argument for uniforms would be that they remove a whole raft of problems with grey areas.
Without a uniform, you’d need to have a policy about ‘acceptable’ clothing - profanity, slogans, sun safety, workplace safety etc which would all be up to interpretation by students and an administration.
And you know that students would push the boundaries, and the ‘line’ would be constantly redrawn every week.
How short is too short on sleeves? What words are inappropriate on shirts?
Uniforms remove this - you’re either in the approved uniform, or you aren’t.
All those are perfectly good reasons for school uniforms in general.
And then your school implements a uniform policy that requires you to buy a blazer for $225 that your child will wear three times a year, and monogrammed socks that are 3 pairs for $45.
That’s some serious graft. But nothing to do with uniforms as a policy. My daughter’s public school has a uniform of sorts but it I just color and style based, not specific required brands
Uniforms as a policy enables the graft. It has everything to do with the policies.
That feels like an extreme case. I feel like this would only happen in an upper class private school.
Public schools here are insane. It’s like £50 for one sweater. And it’s got to have the school name/ logo on it. So you can’t just go and buy a generic sweater the same colour.
And you’ve got to have at least 2, so when one is getting washed, you’d have one good to go.
There’s black shoes, not trainers, but smart shoes.
White shirts. Black pants/ skirts. Specific socks. £15 a tie, which is specifically in school colours so no going out to buy a cheap generic tie.
Then there’s the PE kit that has to be bought from the school. £20 for shorts. £20 for the polo. £10 for football socks.
Altogether when you’re done it’s around £300. Which, if you’re generally working class/ out of work, you’re fucked.
My sweaters faded after half a year, so mum had to buy more. They’d of fit me the entire time, but she had to buy new ones pretty much every 6 months because they just faded in the wash. And that was in the 00s. My mum hates buying uniform for my younger sisters, apparently it’s crazy priced.
Now schools here are doing blazers too, god knows how much they are.
There are exactly two reasons why schools mandate uniforms: greed and/or authoritarian leanings.
I can think of three advantages of uniforms:-
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They reduce competition for expensive clothes and build solidarity.
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They are usually cheap and durable, suited for children who will get their clothes dirty (and occassionally fight).
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It is.easier for people to identify if a students gets lost (particularly when outside school).
Of course, for this to work the uniforms should be simple, affordable and comfortable. And they should be uniform - no gendered outfits or special clothes for some students.
Nothing is as draconian as school uniforms. School uniforms don’t solve the inequality problem at all as there are always other personal belongings where it can be demonstrated. That being said, any institution that decides what clothes someone else should or should not wear is deeply authoritarian. Of course, there may be certain scenarios where such authoritarianism is necessary. Schools however do not fit such scenarios.
Tell me you’re not a parent without telling me you’re not a parent.
Draconian? My kids wear a school polo over regular blue shorts and sneakers, public school isn’t like Hogwarts.
I’d much rather get them to wear that than fuck around making sure their favourite shirt is washed or having to buy some name brand shirt because the cool kids all have one.
I’m not a parent, but I graduated from highschool a few years back. Our school had compulsory uniforms. Clothes and general appearance are integral to one’s personality. After I got out of high school, I had absolutely no dressing sense. I had no idea what clothes I liked, what styles I liked, what colors I liked n so on. School was my life. Outside school, I didn’t hang out with my buddies outside of sports related activities. Hence, casual wear was an afterthought.
After I got out of school though, I began to explore and unlocked a part of my identity that had been forcefully locked away by school. Today, I don’t buy any expensive or branded clothes at all. I choose my clothes based on their color and style. I’m not the show off type in any sphere of my life, because I wasn’t raised that way. I was told “no” whenever it was necessary. You know… Parenting?
Don’t your kids do their own laundry? Also, can’t you say “no” to kids for that hypothetical expensive branded shirt?
Is it really worth stifling your kids’ identity for convenience?
Did you wear no clothes in the evening or on the weekend? I have a lot of residual shame from dressing “poor” in comparison to peers at school. Also, there’s going to be dress codes regardless, which is also stifling individuality. That is usually packaged in sexism as well.
Have you considered that your kids might protect stuff that they like (in this case, their clothes?). I never gave two shits about my school uniform because I hated it. However, my favourite clothes were always in the best possible condition… cuz uk… I actually liked them?
Fine, your kids might be young/uncaring when it comes to their belongings. Even in that case, you would still need to replace the cheap school polos after they’ve been soiled, right? Who says that non school uniforms have to be expensive? Can your kids not pick clothes when they’re made aware of a budget? You could still have expensive weekend clothes while having cheap weekday clothes that your kids have picked for themselves.
This reads like someone who has never spoken to a kid, much less had one.
Agreed. At the my kids’ school (this was years ago), shirts and pants were part of the uniform, but socks weren’t regulated. Saw so many kids wearing goofy socks and carrying other things to just to differentiate.
The parents that had pushed for uniforms to be adopted (the principal relented to their demands while my kids were attending) admitted they mainly wanted uniforms so they wouldn’t have to deal with their children’s clothing choices/wishes. Reaction among parents was split, largely on gender lines (not the parents’, but their kids’ gender).
Like… How is it more difficult to say “no” to your kids than changing public policy regarding what clothes individuals wear? How are these kids supposed to be responsible individuals of the future who protect freedom for all, when they are taught to obey orders about their clothing choices from a bureaucracy of old people? How is this not indoctrination in obeying authority without question?
I had uniform shirt, tie, slacks, socks, jumpers, blazer, bag
The shoes weren’t uniform but were of very limited style.
You could pick something about wealth by how neatly kids were dressed (and the state of their clothes; the cheapest were nearly worn out), and the toys they brought to school
Hats weren’t regulated because it was the '80s and '90s and we didn’t wear hats. We had a uniform hat in our sports uniform but it wasn’t popular
The flip side of the coin is, if parents buy cheaper uniforms they don’t have to buy more expensive, name brand clothes for their children. The school also avoids situations where kids with wealthy parents bully kids from poorer families.
There is probably also an argument for it helping to build school or team spirit, unity etc etc
I went to public school. I never noticed anyone being bullied for wearing cheap clothes.
Kids were more likely to be bullied for how they acted, and it was normally stuff which kinda made sense (not justifying bullying).
Except the wealthy kids can always afford to accesorise or otherwise adjust their uniform to look more fashionable while still technically remaining within dress code.
I always thought it was funny that bringing in blazers was the sign of a failing state school, in the UK at least.
Ofsted good/excellent? Polos and fleeces are fine, it’s all good.
Requires Improvement/Inadequate? Shit, better get all the scrotes in cheap blazers that cost £50 so we can ape the private school down the road.
